Even in Death
by Mei.EndofStory
Summary: Original:Naruto, Sasuke and Mei go on their first ANBU mission. Redo:Naruto, Mei, Sai, Sakura& Kakashi go on a mission together. I decided to redo this after watching more of the series and noticing the Original doesn't follow the story line-NarutoOC
1. Original

"I'll protect you with my life! Believe it!" He laughed, giving her his signature goofy grin.

Naruto told this to Mei as they set out on their first ANBU mission. She had been nervous all day, while getting ready. Sasuke seemed to be a little sick as they departed.

"Are you sure Sasuke-kun?" Mei had asked, "You don't seem alright."

He grunted in reply as usual.

"Don't worry Mei-chan!" Naruto had yelled, "He'll be fine! Even if he is a little sick. It's you that's important. You are our medic-nin!"

She blushed lightly. It crept on her cheeks and spread down her neck in a gentle cloud of pink.

"-I mean who's gunna heal the Teme while I fight the guy who K.O.'ed his butt!"

Mei and Sasuke both rolled their eyes. Of course Naruto had to ruin the moment; even Sasuke had noticed the blush that had risen on Mei's face. Naruto laughed as they made their way to the Village Hidden in the Mist.

"I thought you said no one was following us back there!" Sasuke yelled, exasperated.

Naruto looked over his should at Sasuke as they ran.

"Yeah well I didn't mean to. It was a mistake. Okay, Teme!?" He snapped.

"What ANBU makes a simple 'mistake' like this, Dobe?!" He shot back.

"I DO! ALRIGHT TEME! I MADE THE MISTAKE AND I'M SORRY!" He roared.

"Yeah well because of this 'mistake' Mei got hurt, Naruto." Sasuke growled.

They both glanced over at Mei who was using chakra to slowly heal her shoulder. Blood soaked her shirt and her eyebrows knit together in pain and concentration. Naruto grimaced to himself before turning back around.

"I'm fine!" Mei said quickly, waving her free hand back and forth.

"I'm sorry. " Naruto whispered.

"NO MEI-CHAN!"

The sword came down swiftly, prepared to be thrust into her stomach but the blade never came. Mei opened her eyes to see Naruto standing in front of her. Sword through him, his hand tightly grabbing the blade. Blood slowly spilled around it and collected at their feet.

An eerie silence hugged her tight. She couldn't breath as her mind pulled everything together. Her eyes froze in a fear deeper than her own.

The man finally moved, pushed harder, and Mei could see the tip of the blade emerge through Naruto's back. He began to cough loudly, a drowning sound; it sent shivers down Mei's spine. Naruto grabbed a kunai and with a cry sent it into the man's heart. The man swayed slightly, and then fell back dead.

Naruto dropped to his knees, coughing blood into his hand. Mei and Sasuke, who had both remained still before, moved forward. Sasuke gentle laid Naruto on his back as Mei began to focus her chakra.

"Naru…Naruto-kun?" Mei whispered.

Something prickled in the back of her eyes and her throat clenched.

"Mei-chan? Are y-you okay? You di-didn't get hurt d-did you?" He coughed and it shook his frame.

"No Naruto-kun. I…I'm fine. Hold still okay? And don't talk. Save your energy." She said quietly.

Sasuke bent down to watch.

"Do you need anything?" He asked.

She shook her head 'no' and he nodded. Her hands lowered over Naruto's stomach, lightly touching the skin. She pulled back the tattered cloth to reveal a gaping hole, blood still flowing freely. She concentrated deeply, allowing her chakra to flow over him. After what seemed like eons Naruto grabbed her wrist.

"Mei-chan, stop. You're going to hu-hurt yourself. I-It's not go-going to work. If the Kyuubi's chakra isn't then…" He trailed off.

She looked down at him. His eyes clenched in pain, mouth pulled into a grimace. His free hand was in a tight fist. His clothes, hair, and skin blood stained. It was a painful sight and it turned Mei's insides.

"Heh, don't worry M-Mei-chan! I'm fine," He chuckled harshly, "Y-you should worry over the Teme! He w-was the one who was surprised we were attacked!"

And yet.

Even through the pain Naruto still was being himself. And this was exactly why Mei had felt the way she did. Between the pranks and the promises Naruto had made, Mei had fallen unconditionally and unquestionably in love with him.

A spasm of fear gripped her heart as she watched him. Watched him giving up; she began to cry.

"Naruto Uzumaki don't you dare give up! This is not like you! You are not going to die! So don't even think that way!" Her tears that of equal to a storm cloud.

"Mei…" He whispered, "I can't make-"

"Don't say it, Uzumaki! This isn't like you!" She yelled.

"Mei, this isn't something s-simple. I-I can't-"

"YOU WILL NOT LEAVE ME, UZUMAKI! You can't! I love you!" She shouted.

Sasuke took in a sharp breath. Naruto began to laugh again and it sounded painful.

"It's funny." He said.

"What's funny?!" She snapped, frustrated.

"I've been waiting for you to say that because… I love you too…"

His grip on her wrist loosened and dropped to the ground. The pain left his face and his body relaxed.

"Naruto…Naruto…NARUTO!" Mei yelled.

She latched onto his shirt, tears poured down her face. Her forehead pressed against his gently and tears dripped from her eyes to his. The tears rolled down his cheeks and it looked as if Naruto himself was crying.

Sasuke gently placed a hand on her shoulder, kneeling down. Mei's heart that was once filled with unconditional and unquestionable love was now replaced with greater pain.


	2. Redo

"I'll protect you with my life! Believe it!"

Naruto gave Mei his signature goofy grin, throwing up his thumbs as well. Mei smiled back at him, his words spreading a blush like wildfire across her cheeks and neck. Sai and Sakura shared a glance with each other before looking back at the two. Naruto threw his arm over Mei's shoulders, pulling her close to him, nose nuzzling her cheek causing the blush to darken tenfold. She shoved Naruto away playfully while he continued to smile at her grabbing her hand in his.

Sakura cleared her throat quickly, "Naruto, leave Mei-chan alone, she can't get ready with you pestering her."

Naruto rolled his eyes, giving Sakura a haughty expression as he crossed his arms over his chest. The pink haired girl cracked her knuckles in warning to which Naruto gulped, taking three steps away from Mei. Sai gave his closed eyed, creepy smile which earned him a harsh glare from Naruto, though Sai seemed unfazed like usual. Mei laughed with Sakura at the immaturity of both teens.

"I don't know what you see in Dickless, Mei-chan."

With a growl Naruto threw himself at Sai, attempting to strangle the other, Sakura held him back while Mei smacked Sai across the back of the head. Sai made an 'oomph' sound, rubbing the spot tenderly but continued to smile none-the-less. Kakashi shook his head at the childishness of all of the members, shoving his book into his kunai pouch. They all looked at him, three sheepish and one creepy grin, spread across their faces.

"Ma, Sakura, Mei, Naruto, Sai. You all need to act a little more serious. This is after all your first A-Rank Mission as ANBU." They nodded their heads in a small bow.

Kakashi gave them a closed eyed smile, "Alright then! Get your masks and robes on! We're headed to the Mist!"

* * *

"I thought you said no one was following us back there!" Sakura yelled, exasperated.

Naruto looked at her, a snarl already forming on his lips; he clenched his fists as he paced faster, "Yeah well I didn't sense anyone, okay! It was a mistake!"

"What ANBU makes this simple "mistake" you idiot!" She shot back.

"I DO! ALRIGHT! I MADE THE MISTAKE AND I'M SORRY!" He roared.

"Well because of your "mistake" Naruto, Mei is hurt!" Sakura growled.

Mei sighed heavily as Sakura continued to pour chakra into the gash between her shoulder and collarbone. The pain had died down considerably since the attack and she focused her attention now on the bickering Sakura and Naruto. Her stomach felt uneasy and Mei wanted to tell Sakura to leave Naruto alone, it hadn't been his fault. Mei hadn't sensed anyone either and if she was close enough to get hurt then she was just as at guilty for her injury.

"Sakura-chan, please, Naruto-kun didn't mean for it to happen. I should have been looking out as well, the injury is my own fault." Sakura made a face but said nothing more.

Naruto watched Mei intently as her skin began to stitch itself back together with the use of Sakura's chakra. His eyes roamed over her bloodstained shirt, biting his lip to fight the bile that rose in his throat. Sai and Kakashi both entered the small clearing reporting that they were, in fact, safe here until they decided to move again. They all watched as Sakura told Mei to get ready, she was going to pop her should back in place. Sakura gripped both of Mei's shoulders tightly and began to count to five. On three Sakura forced Mei's left shoulder in quickly, a popping sound could be heard and Mei bit her lip, drawing blood.

Kakashi was the first to speak up, "We can go now?"

Sakura nodded her head, helping Mei to her feet. Mei gave Naruto a weak smile to which he couldn't return. They all turned away from each other, darting off to finish the mission. Naruto stayed to the back, watching Mei and her blood stained shirt. Anger at himself swirled and spun up quickly, the Kyuubi taunted him in the back of his mind, laughing at him for not being able to protect his mate. Naruto could think only one thing, could feel only one thing, whisper only one thing.

"Im sorry."

* * *

Naruto had already accepted his fate as the sword prepared to be thrust through him. He was too tired to fight on his own and the last time Kyuubi had been let out comrades had been hurt; plus with the ninja occupied with him someone from his team could attack and kill him. His eyes closed tightly and he imagined what it would be like for him if he wasn't going to die. He saw himself as Hokage, he saw his friends being with him, he saw Sasuke back, he saw his life with Mei.

"MEI! NO!"

Naruto opened his eyes at the sound of Kakashi's yell to see Mei standing in front of him. Time stood still. Her hair still fluttered around her face at the speed she had abruptly stopped at. The sword poked its way through her, the tip visible to Naruto from her back. Blood spilled and collected around their feet. An eerie silence hugged him tight, he couldn't breathe as his mind began to piece everything together; his eyes froze in a fear deeper than his own.

The man wielding the sword finally moved, shoving the weapon farther in, another inch of the blade emerged from her back. Mei began to cough loudly, a drowning sound which sent shivers down Naruto's spine. A war cry was heard, but it sounds so far away to Naruto's ears. A flash of pink went by and the man disappeared from in front of Mei, along with his sword. Mei dropped to her knees, coughing blood into her hand.

Sakura killed the man with ease, sending a kunai straight into his heart. Kakashi and Sai who had both remained still rushed forward with Sakura. Sai gripped Naruto's shoulders and moved him out of the way as Kakashi helped lay Mei onto her back. Sakura leaned over her quickly, hands glowing a bright green; she let them roam over Mei's stomach, taking in the damage. Mei's chest rose and fell weakly.

"Mei...Mei-chan?" Naruto whispered.

Something prickled in the back of his eyes and his throat clenched. Naruto began to tremble as his stomach tightened painfully. Sai kept his hands firmly on Naruto's shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Naruto began to shake his head "no" as hands reached up to grip the sides of his head. Tanned fingers grabbed blonde locks, yanking and tugging harshly. Kakashi looked at Naruto before leaning closer to Sakura.

"Do you need anything?"

The pink haired girl shook her head no. She continued to concentrate deeply, focusing as much chakra as she could to the wound. A frown sprouted across her lips and her eye brow knit together tightly. Sakura had stopped the blood from spilling out but the damage to the liver seemed impossible to fix. Sakura's chakra flickered but her body was running low, tears sprang to her eyes and she tried to blink them back. Seconds later a tan pair of hands placed themselves over hers, she looked up to see the tear stained face of Naruto. His eyes remained focused on Mei's face.

When he began talking Sakura was taken aback, "Fix her like Gaara. Use me."

The tears spilled under green eyes and Sakura shook her head back and forth. She pulled her hands away, the glow over Mei's stomach disappeared. Naruto snapped his head towards Sakura's, a dangerous red bleeding into blue eyes. He reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrists, nails digging in painfully drawing blood. Sakura pulled them out of his grasp quickly, rubbing the tender marks.

"You don't understand Naruto. If I use all of your chakra, you still have Kyuubi's. Without your chakra to balance it out, Kyuubi will take over. I can't risk it. Especially if it doesn't work, Mei will die and so will you for absolutely no reason."

Naruto and Sakura stared at each other for what seemed like eons. Before anyone noticed what was happening Mei reached out a hand, gripping Naruto's wrist. All heads snapped to her quickly as she began to open her eyes. The red instantly vanished from Naruto's blue and he cupped her face in his hand; a small smile crept its way over her lips.

"Naru...Naruto. Don't w-worry about me," Naruto opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "Be str-rong and...and always remember I love you."

A spasm of fear gripped his heart, as he watched her giving up. He began to cry. Large, fat tears rolled down his cheeks in a never ending river. He moved his hands to grip one of hers tightly. His tears equal to that of a storm cloud.

"Don't give up on me!" Naruto shouted.

Mei's eyes had closed but she continued to squeeze Naruto's hands that held hers. Sakura leaned back over to continue her work in a futile attempt. After what seemed like years, Mei's grip on Naruto's slackened, Sakura sat back and cried into her hands. Sai placed his hands on her shoulders and she turned around clutching to his shirt as more tears came. Kakashi stood back from his former students, his head bowed.

Naruto leaned forward, arms crossing over Mei's body and cried. His chest heaved and the sound of sobs echoed all around them. Even Kyuubi remained silent, his taunting jeers staying behind locked lips. They all remained like that in the clearing and soon other Konoha ninja joined them. They carefully separated Naruto from Mei's corpse and helped him to his feet. Naruto was uncharacteristically silent as the team made their way back to the village.

* * *

The night grew darker and so did Naruto's mood. He lay across his and Mei's bed, breathing in the scent of her which began to fade the longer he lay there. His eyes were red and irritated, no longer having any tears to shed. The room was dark, but the moon cast shadows on the walls, leaving Naruto to feel even more sick. In the crook of his right arm rested Mei's pillow, which he continued to breathe into deeply, trying to hold in her smell.

Naruto idly wondered who would show up at the funeral the next day. Mei had lots of friends, but he feared most would be too busy to show. The thought of no one being their made the bile rise in the back of his throat. At least he knew for sure Sakura, Kakashi, Sai, Shizune and Baa-chan would be there, which allowed him to calm his nerves. If he wasn't going to be there he at least wanted someone he knew cared be there.

His heart ached painfully and he gripped his shirt above his heart, but soon he remembered it would all be okay soon. He still loved her with all his heart, even in death.

* * *

Kakashi had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he approached Naruto's small home the next day. The shinobi who was supposed to be watching him wasn't around and a side window had been left wide open. Kakashi entered the house quickly to see the guard leaning against a wall, dried blood on his chin. Kakashi felt for a pulse and sighed in relief when he felt one. He quickly left in search of Naruto, taking in the damage of the living room and hall way.

Kakashi finally reached the bedroom and paused. The door had been left open a crack and the smell of blood hit his nose; gingerly he gripped the door handle, pushing it open. What he saw made him double over and vomit; memories brought themselves to the forefront of his mind. He looked back up and wiped the sickness from his lips with the back of his hand. He walked forward, placing a hand on Naruto shoulder and turned him over.

The vomit came again and Kakashi cursed himself for his bad feeling. He had seen this before and it brought back all of the same feelings, all of the same memories. Before him lay Naruto's lifeless body after a Seppuku.


End file.
